News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1887-07-07
CHILDREN OF MANY MINDS.
Maine School Teachers Tell of the
fccu1iaritiCs of Some of their
Pupils.

We were pleased particularly with the
progress made in drawing, the creative
skill displayed in original designs, some
OF them being fit for perpetuity in car
pets or embroidery. The interesting
feature of drawing is that it brings in
to action a set of faculties that the other
branches allow to so into the dormitory.
Many children get the reputation of
being dullards, simply because they are
not aroused by something kindred to
their talent. On this point we will let
some of the teachers talk: "Do you
see that Old English on the black
loard! That boy is a poor scholar in
several branches, but he shows some
thing like talent in drawing. A good
designer in one of our Lewistown cot
| ton-mills GETS bigger salary than any
Lcwistonian does i'll any of the learned
professions.
II have an Irish boy in my room,"
says another teacher. ''who con express
himself the best Of any lad i'll school.
He works before and after school, and
pays his way, but he is quite a phe-
nomenon i'll language and general in
formation. Then l have another boy
who is very queer. He is the smartest
lad i'll geography ] ever saw; but he
can do almost nothing i'll reading. [
have another little chap in my school
about as big as a Bland dollar-he did
that fine dawing on the board He's a
prodigy in history-he knows all there is
outside the book as well as the inside.
And he is but IL years old. Then do
you see this i'll the drawing book? That
lad doesn't average over % in the bal
ance of his studies, but he berts all in
drawing"
Another teacher says: "Some of my
pupils can't do any oral work, but will
do wonders on paper OF slate. You
see the ec tempore boy or girl is not
made, but born. Not everybody can
speak in 'meetin' ''This, says an
other teacher, "shows why written ex-
want to find out what the pupil knows"
you'd be astonished," said one
teacher recently, ''to see how much a
confiden5 boy can impose misinforma-
ton or shortage of information on
teacher. [ often hear children say
Tom never studies at all, but somehow
he always makes a good appea rance in
recitation.
Gas whole" says one of the Au-
burn teachers, "what particularly i'm
presses me is the regularity rather than
the irregularity of the talents in my
school," This may strengthen the
theory that the race is advancing intel
lectually rs a whole, but that CENSUS is
not so plenty as it used to be.
GIVE a boy" says one teacher, "who
is dreadfully lazy, but he has good
mind. When | call for the definition
of a peculiar word, he knows all about
it. He studies little, but he knows a
good deal" That boy probably is a
great leader. Well wager he is a close
student cf the newspapers. He will
make man, no doubt, but he misses IL
good deal in overlooking the three Rs.
s'Then too" the teacher continues 81
have some pupils who are prodlgles III
grammar and spelling, who are very Co
matose on arithmetic and J. have one
boy who can't spell anything, and q
bright boy, too, in several studies. L
don't know if he could spell Auburn at
the point of the bayonet."
One teacher says: 81 have boy who
is painful stupid in several branches,
but he has lively imagination and can
write the best stories of any lad III the
school,"
"Tve one pupil who can reason out
almost anything in mathematics, has
good, pratical mind, Imagination ex-
cellent, studious, and a good body
loves fun besides" "
.'One of my boys" says another tea
cher, lis very smart in everything but
arithmetic. which he can't see through
any way. Yet he has vivid imagi-
nation and q wonderful memory"